Filing drawer



June 24, 1930. LE Ro HUTCHENGS ET AL 1,768A67 FILING DRAWER Filed Feb. 15, 1327 [liven tons lie Poi Z. flute/1mg; v

- filing drawer,

Patented June 24, 1930 UNITE STATES PATENT o FIcE LE ROI EARLE HUTCI-IINGS AND JOSEPH D. LEAR, OF BUFFALO, NEW.YORK, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO REMINGTON RAND,.INC., OF NEW: YORK, N. A

r CORPORATION OF DELAWARE FILING DRAWER .Application filed February 15, 1927. Serial No. 168,455.

rods are incorporated in the drawer structure for detachably supporting on crossbars carrying pockets for thereceptlon of reference data. o y

A further object of the invention is to provide a drawer forholding shdmgly mounted reference pockets in whlch an easy method .of' assembling the drawer 1s pr ovided; also to. improve filing drawers in other 7 respects hereinafter specified and claimed. Reference is 7 ing drawing forming a part of th1s spec1fica tion, in which, I r

.Fig. 1 is anelevatlonof our improved Fi 2'is a ers ective of a portion of the imprbved file dr'a'fier showing themethod of assemblin of theslide members,

Fig. 3 1s a transverse sectlonal elevation through one side, portion of the improved drawer, k V r Fig. 4 15 another transverse sectlonal elevation through the drawerfshowing the pockets and cross bars in place, I r Fig. 5 is a horizontal fragmentary sectional view through the drawer, and I Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan View of the. p I

I whlch the rear edge of each slde wall12 rear corner of the improved drawer.

Referringto the drawing by numerals,

l5. The'pockets .14 maybe in the form. of a continuous strip of material such as cloth which is'folded over the cross-bars 151 and secured thereto.

In order to slidablysupport the crossbarsl5 at the proper height in the drawer,

to behad to the accompanya pair of slide members 16 are provided, one above each side wal'l'12. These slide members 16 are preferably formed of spring steel wire and the forward end of each member 16 has an upwardly extending arm 17 terminating in a transversely extending arm 18. In order to support the forward end of each member 16, an inwardly extending flange 19 is formed on each ofthe two vertical edges of the front wall 10, said flange 19 being spaced apart from said front wall a distance somewhat greater than the thickness of arm 17 A notch 20 is formed in each of the flanges 19 and each notch is adapted to receive the forward end of one member 16, each member being maintained in place in its respective notch by one of the inwardly extending flanges 21 formed on the two vertical edges of liner 22. This liner22' is preferably formed at its upper edge with an ofl'set flange 23 whichex- I tends under a downwardly extending flange 24 formed along the upper edge of front wall 10. The liner 22 is preferably assembled by first inserting the flange '28 underflange 24 and then forcing the bottom of said liner forwardly until it wedges tightjwithf the bottom edge of said liner against the bot tom 11 of the drawer. The tight fitting' liner'22 then holds the members 16 in place, and said members are prevented from twisting dueto the laterally extending arm 18 engaging in front of flange 19. V p The rear corner of the drawer is pref erably constructed as shown in Fig. 6'in is bent inwardly to form a 'flange'25.- The" rear wall'l3 of the drawer may be formed by bending the end of the drawer bottom 11 upwardly and the flanges 25 are spot-welded or otherwise-secured to said rear wall 13. A socket 27 is formed ineach rear corner. of the drawer by bending the rear walle13 inwardly and then outwardlyi'outside "the spot-weld. In order to support the rear end of slide member 16, a vertical standard 28 is inserted in'the socket 27, saidstandard" being preferably formed of a heavy piece of resilient spring wire. The upper end of standard 28 is formed into'a loop 29 andthe rearward end of each member 16 extends through said loop 29, the extreme end of said member 16 having an upset head which prevents forward disengagement or movement of the member 16 through said loop ,29. The spring wire 16 preferably bows somewhat upwardly in the center as shown in Fig. 1, so that the pockets 14 are supported at the correct height above drawer bottom 11. As the pockets l4: become heavily loaded with reference data, the bottoms of said pockets flatten out and rest squarely on the drawer bottom 11 due to the fact that the member 16 flattens out 7 under the weight of the material supported.

This upward bowing of the member 16 may be aided by the upwardly extending arm 17 Which engages the inward face of the flange 1'9 and serves to resist the downward deflection of the center of the member 16 under the weight of the reference data.

bers and their suspended pockets in a drawer, and also facilitates the installation of the slide members in previously used d awers,

lThe flanges 19 on the drawer front to- .gether with the liner 22 with the notch 20 formed in the flange 19, provide what may be termed sockets, at the opposite sides of the drawer which receive the preformed ends 17 and 18 on each slide member 16. The liner 22 also forms a locking plate for releasably locking the preformed ends of the slide members in the sockets, this liner or looking plate being detachably mounted in the drawer and retained in position by frictional engagement between the edges of the flanges 19 and the bottom 11. The interlocking connection formed at the upper edge of the drawer and the drawer front cooperates with this frictional engagement of H the sides and bottoms so that this plate is efliciently retained in position. With this character of construction, substantial utility is embodied in the'construction of a file drawer for practical use in filing'cabinets so that the cabinets and drawers may be con-.

structed and sold without the slide members or the crosssbars 15 carrying the pocketforming Strip, Thus, when the purchaser of such file cabinets finds some particular use f r a sectional pocket-forming construe tion as shown in the drawing to divide the drawer into a series of flexible independent pockets, the attachment of the slide members 16 and the subsequent positioning of the cross-bars 15 in operative position thereon can be accomplished without modifying the construction of the drawer. This is done by removing the liner or locking plate 22, insert-ing the standards 2.8 into the sockets .at the rear ends of the drawer and then inserting the ends 17 and 18 and the adja cent portion of the slide member into the sockets at the front ends of the drawer. with the parts 16 extending through the notches 20. By replacing the locking plate 22, the

slide members are thus held in completely assembled relation in the drawer and the V cross-bars 15 by means of the slotted ends formed as shown in Figure 4 may then be applied with the strip 14 so that the file drawer is immediately adapted to the ad vantages obtained by the use of the strip 14: formed into a series of pockets supported by the cross-bars 1.5. It is to be further understood that the standards 28 may be made integral with the rear ends of the slide members 16, if desired.

We would state in conclusion that while the illustrated examples constitute preferred embodiments of our invention, we do not limit ourselves precisely to the details herein described, since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A filing drawer having a front wall and having a socket formed adjacent each rear corner thereof, vertical standards adapted to be positioned in each socket, a pair of slide members, each supported at one end by said standards .and .at the other end by said front wall, crossbars slidably mounted on said slide members and a pocketforming member for reference data wspend ed from said cross-bars.

2. A filing drawer having a front wall of sheet metal, an inwardly turned flange formed along each vertical edge of said front wall, each flange having a notch formed therein, a slide member supported in each notch in said flanges and comprising an upwardly extending arm formed on each slide member, each arm extending between said flange and front wall, means for supporting the opposite ends of said slide members, and means supported by said slide members dividing said drawer into a plurality of filing sections.

3. A filing drawer having a front wall of sheet metal, slide members, said front wall having notched portions adapted to receive one end of said slide members, a removble liner inside said front wall adapted to confine said slide members in said notched portions, means for supporting the opposite 7 ends of said slide members and means dividing said drawer into a plurality of filing sections supported by said slide members.

4. A filing drawer of sheet metal having a pair of rear corner sockets, a vertical standard supported in each socket having a loop at the top, a pair of slide members having one end of each passing through and supported by said loops, an upset head formed on each slide member adapted to prevent removal of said slide members from said loops in one direction, means for supporting the opposite ends of said slide members on said drawer, and means slidable on said slide members dividing said drawer into a plurality of filing sections.

5. In a filing device, a drawer having front, side, bottom and rear walls being formed to provide sockets at the front and rear ends of the side walls, slide members, preformed means on the ends of said slide members having detachable interlocking ens gagement in said sockets to support said members in spaced substantially parallel rebers to the rear end of the drawer, and

means slidable on said slide members dividing said drawer into a plurality of filing sections. 7 7

LE ROI EARLE HUTCHINGS. JOSEPH D. LEAR.

lation to said sidewalls, and'means supported by said slide members dividing said drawer into a plurality of filing sections.

6. In a filing device, a drawer having front, side, bottom, and rear Walls, formed to provide sockets at the front and rear ends of the side walls, a pair of slide members, preformed means on the ends of said slide members engageable in said sockets to support said members in parallel relation at the sides of the drawer, locking means detachably engaged with said drawer for locking said preformed means in said sockets, and means slidably mounted on said slide members dividing said drawer into a plurality of filing sections;

7. In a filing device, a drawer having front, side, bottom and rear walls, said front wall being formed with sockets at opposite sides over said side walls, said side and rear walls being formed to provide sockets in the rear corners of the drawer, slide members having preformed means at the ends, the means at the ends of each slide member being engaged in the sockets at the front and rear of the drawer respectively, a looking I plate at the front of the drawer locking said preformed means in said sockets, and means supported by said slide members dividing said drawer into va, plurality of filing sections. V

8. In a filing drawer having a front wall formed with socket portions at opposite sides, slide members, each having one end formed to engage in one of said socket p0rtion's, 'means supporting the opposite ends of said slide members at the rear end ofthe drawer, a locking plate removably engageable with the front wall for locking said slide members in said socket portions, and 

